BASRA: Engineering teams from the State Company for Iraqi Ports on Wednesday completed all studies concerning the construction of a new port in Basra's Umm Qasr, a spokesperson for the Iraqi Ministry of Transport said. "The new port will include four quays, four stores and an administration building," Jawad al-Kharsan told Aswat al-Iraq. "The port will be located between the northern and southern ports, and will provide a new opportunity for investors in a manner that will increase operational energy efficiency in Iraqi ports," Kharsan noted. A total 40,900 tons of cargo arrived yesterday at Umm Qasr port, Kharsan explained, adding that the port's operational capacity is 30,000 tons per day.
The Shiite province of Basra, 590 km south of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, has five commercial ports and two oil ports: al-Maaqal, established in 1916 by the British forces and handed over to Iraqi authorities in 1937; and Faw, a small port on the al-Faw Peninsula near the Shatt al-Arab waterway and the Persian Gulf.
In the early 1970s, Umm al-Qasr port was built, and in 1974, Khour al-Zubeir and Abu Fallous ports were established on the Shatt al-Arab.
Basra is the cradle of the first civilization of Sumer. The city played an important role in early Islamic history.
The area surrounding Basra has substantial petroleum resources and many oil wells. The city's oil refinery has a production capacity of about 140,000 barrels per day (bpd).
Basra is in a fertile agricultural region, with major products including rice, maize corn, barley, pearl millet, wheat and dates as well as livestock.
A network of canals flowed through the city, giving it the nickname "The Venice of the Middle East" at least at high tide.
© Aswat Aliraq 2008
